The Male GazeBy Alana Abrahams

Male Gaze in Films In films, women are seen as an object for men to look at. If the

woman in the film has more sex appeal then men are more likely to watch it. When seen as an object in the film they lose their personality and become what men want to see or what they desire.

Women gain a lot more publicity if they are seen as attractive to men because men dominate in society. The producers/directors are men so what you see in films is what they would like to see. Only 16% of producers/directors are women.

Women are used in films for the gratification of men and when in films they lose all power, respect and independence with the odd exception.

Laura Mulvey Laura Mulvey created the male gaze theory when she wrote the

essay “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema”. Mulvey sees the representation of women in film, literature and

society in general as being dominated by the male point of view. Her belief is that the world is a patriarchy and that men have the active roles (to look) and women have the passive roles (accept being looked at).

She explains that certain camera views/angles and effects are used to enhance a woman’s features and put you in the perspective of a male. The male gaze hides a woman’s human identity by just focusing on the physical appearance.

Female Objectification Instead of being seen as a woman, in films women become just

an object. Objectification is related to Mulvey’s theory of the male gaze. As an object the sole value of a woman is to be a possession

owned by a man to be enjoyed and used.

Examples of the Male Gaze

Now In this day and age, the objectification of women has improved.

The roles of women in film are now very varied. Some films now go against the stereotype and take their own Women are still objectified in films and adverts but men are also objectified. Adverts and films now include men being an object for women to look at. Here are some examples:

Male Gaze in Thrillers The male gaze theory is commonly proven in

Thriller films. The typical role a woman would have would include her being scared, depending on a man and weak. An example of this is: Psycho. It shows the stereotypical role of a female.

Salt is another example. In the film salt Angelina Jolie plays a spy. She possesses the characteristics a male usually would by being strong, independent and brave. This film acts against the stereotype but it still uses the male gaze because she is a good-looking women showing off her assets. Jolie uses her femininity to beat bad guys.